Dreams
by Kethry47
Summary: Episode tag to the season 4 episode "Beneath the Surface"


**Author's Note:** I recently found an old disk with fanfic I had written years ago in my favourite TV universe, Stargate SG1. Since most of the old archives have disappeared and many of the stories have so far only appeared in fanzines, I thought it might be a good idea to re-publish them here.

Hope you'll enjoy them anyway.

**DREAMS**

_"Shall we …?" _

_"Oh yes, I'd like that very much."_

_"Then let's do it."_

_The soft, flickering light of hundreds of candles all around them; his body in close proximity to hers; his arms around her, holding her so tenderly - though she could never mistake the strength of those hands; both of them swaying in time to the rhythmic beat of the music - a beat that was mirrored by the expectant pulse of their hearts; his face slowly bending down to her; his mouth whispering her name ----_

"**Thera!** **… Damn**! … Watch what you're doing! That could get us all killed! What's wrong with you?"

With a start, Thera looked up into the face that was dimly illuminated by the feeble lights and the flickering fires. The face of the man standing close to her, touching her, steadying her – **holding** her? She blinked once. She knew the face. It belonged to … Jona – her …friend? **Why** was he holding her like this?

Unmoving, unblinking, she kept staring at the man in front of her for a few more seconds. Then, hesitantly, her eyes broke their hold on him, moved up and finally acknowledged the scene around her. They stood in front of the pressure control system. All around them, the big plant was beating its steady rhythm. The rhythm of life.

"Thera?" Slowly Jona took a step back, letting go of her; though he still held on to her hand, the hand he had forcibly loosened off the controls of the pressure valve. Thera's eyes widened as the thought penetrated the strange fog that seemed to have taken over her mind. The pressure valve! After the accident she had gone back down, to close the valve again. She remembered pulling on it, turning it … again and again… and again. If she had tightened it any further, the pressure would soon have built up uncontrollably a second time, would have sought a new release, **would** have blown this time … and taken this whole section with it. If Jona hadn't pulled her away …. What was she **doing**?

What had she been thinking of? **Dreaming**—like this. Was she **nightsick**? Was this how the terrible illness started? Her mind reeled. For a second, the strange gray walls of a different place, of another world swam before her eyes. Another world? There was only **this **world; whatever else there might have been once, it was now buried under ice and snow, uninhabitable, unfit for human life. Their world was here, deep in the bowels of the planet.

"Thera? You okay?"

Gulping in a deep breath, Thera hastily stepped away from the machine that meant their life, still confused, uncertain of what had happened. Jona's hand fell away from her, dropping to his side. Her gaze followed the downward movement; she was aware of her own hand, strangely missing the touch now. Then she lifted her eyes up to his face. She took another deep, steadying breath. With a slight, hesitant smile she nodded to him. "Yes … I'm …I'm fine." And added with a glance at the pressure valve, "Thanks."

He shrugged. "No problem." His gaze never left her face, scrutinizing her features. She knew he couldn't help noticing her apparent confusion. He had always been very observant and he knew her too well. His eyes narrowed. "You're sure?"

"Yes!" More decisive this time. "I'm sure. Everything is just fine."

"Thera? Jona?" Almost guiltily, they both swivelled at the sound of Brenna's voice. The overseer stood a few feet behind them, watching the pair with a curious expression in her shadowed eyes. "Is there a problem?"

"No, Brenna, everything's under control."

"Nope, we're just peachy."

At this incomprehensible comment, both women turned puzzled eyes to Jona; but he simply returned the look - unperturbed as always - and gave them a shrug, accompanied by an innocently delivered, "It's just an expression."

"Yes." A flick of Brenna's hand dismissed Jona and the strange, meaningless words he sometimes used. "Go back to your stations, please. There is much we still have to do."

In unison, both Thera and Jona straightened and answered her with the old, traditional formula, "It is my honor to serve." With a slight frown Brenna watched them return to their assigned work.

_What did you dream of? _After the disturbing incident with Tor, Carlen had brought them together and asked them this question – and others. _What did you dream of? What is real? What do you remember? _He hadn't stopped asking, questioning everything, turning their lives upside down_. What did you dream of?_

_A big, glowing puddle – a pool of light – a shimmering circle of water…_

Carlen said he had dreamt of this strange round … 'thing'. And they had all been there in his dream, he said – Thera, Tor and he, Jona. He said they belonged in some other place; they were all part of some … **team**. At first she had hesitated, but then Thera claimed she'd dreamt of this - whatever-it-was – too.

Then why didn't **I, **too?

_My dreams are of … other things._

Yes, I dream, too. And not just of mining and crawling through this gloomy hell, scraping out a meager living. There are those dreams that lead me to strange, yet familiar places. I see people I don't recognise, but my gut tells me that I know them. And then there are … other things…. I just don't know what any of it all means. Yes,… I do dream,…but how can I tell youmy dreams?

_It's like a façade. It only works if we don't dig too deep._

That's what Carlen said about us. Do I dare dig deeper? Something tells me it might be better if I don't, if I leave things as they are. Keep the status quo, don't disturb the surface. Let the pond lie still. The things that are hidden down below are forbidden territory. Off limits! Don't go there, for crying out loud! It's better this way. Anything else, … those other things…they are… against … regs?

Why do I always use these funny words, these 'expressions'? Where do they come from? What strange secrets does my mind harbour? Where do **my** dreams come from?

_What did you dream of?_

_… other things._

Do I really want to know?

* * *

"You know there are things about this place that I **like**."

There was a soft, almost imperceptible smile on Thera's face as she gently laid her head on Jona's shoulder. He looked down on the short shining hair. He liked her smile. Come to think of it, he liked her head on his shoulder. "Really?"

There were many things he liked … about **her**. Maybe he could tell **her** about his dreams.

"Would it mean anything if I told you I remember something else?"

The head did not move from his shoulder. "What?"

"Feelings."

"Feelings?" she asked, dreamily.

"I remember feeling feelings."

"For me?" Her voice was gentle, understanding. She knew what he was talking about. Unerringly, she had hit on the truth.

"No, for Tor." His response was automatic, with only a slight, sarcastic overtone, and Thera laughed. She raised her head a little – and immediately put it back on its comfortable perch. He was glad. It felt so good, so **right** to have her head snuggled there on his shoulder. Through the arm that lay alongside his own limb he could feel her still chuckling softly.

He liked her laugh. It was one of the things he had liked about her right from the beginning. Her laugh, her smile, her smartness – there was no way he could forget any of that, was there? Feelings.

"I don't remember much, but I do remember that."

"So…"

"So? I'm just saying …" _And hope I haven't said too much._

"Well, then I feel better." Pensively, with her head still resting on his shoulder, Thera stared into the darkness, her smile slowly dimming.

Jona followed her lead and let his eyes peruse the shadows. His mind searched out some unknown place, trying to catch a fleeting dream far away. This was deep enough for a start, wasn't it? Maybe later….

_What did __**you**__ dream of?_

* * *

"So, … Colonel?"

For a long moment, his eyes locked with hers. She couldn't break the contact.

"Major."

That was that then.

Colonel - Major.

No longer Jona and Thera, a man and a woman who might share a dream, but back to Colonel Jack O'Neill and Major Samantha Carter.

"It's all coming back."

"Yes, sir."

"Sir …" There was a world in that one small word. A world of longing? A world of regret? She knew that in the end it was a world of knowledge - and their acknowledgement of the truth.

"Let's go home."

_Shall we …? - Oh yes, I'd like that very much. - Then let's do it._

"Yes, sir."

_After all, it was only a dream, wasn't it?_

THE END


End file.
